For several years, “omnichannel” gaming has been among the biggest buzzwords in the industry.
Particularly on the brick-and-mortar side, stakeholders have long racked their brains to answer the central question: How do we facilitate synergy between digital and retail gaming?
While a range of different strategies have been deployed, the pressure to get creative is starting to mount as the rate of online revenue growth has soared far above its retail counterpart for many months.
In August, for example, four of the seven US states with legal iGaming – Michigan, New Jersey, West Virginia and Delaware – reported all-time monthly digital revenue records. All seven markets reported growth of at least 25% year-over-year for the period. Comparatively, retail casino revenue across the entire US grew 2.5% YoY through the first seven months of 2025, per the American Gaming Association.
By now, many retail companies have made their omnichannel stances known. Casino-centric operators such as Wynn Resorts, Churchill Downs, Monarch Casino and, most recently, Las Vegas Sands, have curtailed, avoided or abandoned online growth efforts. The National Association Against iGaming, an organisation opposed to digital expansion composed mainly of smaller casinos and labor unions, debuted in February and has grown in membership.
Meanwhile, other legacy operators like MGM Resorts are embracing the challenge and trying new splashy investments. All the while, the supplier sector is working to facilitate the technology needed for omnichannel gaming growth, in whatever form that might take.
Asked where his company stands on a scale of 1-10 in terms of investing in omnichannel gaming, Aristocrat chief product officer Matt Primmer said, “It’s probably not that myopic.”
“But we’re definitely towards the end of investing in it,” Primmer said. “Alignment of tools, alignment of structures, alignment of portfolio planning and strategy, is all shifting in that direction.”
Bringing the studio to the casino floor
One such effort is taking place on the casino floor of the MGM Grand, which at roughly 171,000 square feet is among the largest on the Las Vegas Strip. Dropped into the centre of the floor is MGM’s “Live from Vegas” production studio, a high-tech glass box from which dealers broadcast live table game play to iGaming customers in 10 international, regulated markets.
During broadcasts, patrons and passersby stop and watch from outside to take in the spectacle while being unable to partake directly. Inside, the studio is like a Hollywood control room, tightly packed with broadcast equipment, switches and, of course, dealers and tables.
The outfit is a partnership involving MGM, game supplier Playtech and Fremantle, which owns the IP rights to “Family Feud”. A gambling version of the popular TV show is among the games broadcast from the studio. Others include standard table games like roulette, blackjack and baccarat.
MGM operates mobile sports betting and iGaming in the US and internationally through BetMGM, but that company is not involved in the project.
Launched in late August, the physical studio is a massive expansion of the “Live from Vegas” series, which rolled out in June 2024. That first phase saw streaming cameras placed at designated tables on the floors of MGM Grand and Bellagio, and those games are still broadcast as well. According to Vik Shrestha, vice president of online gaming at MGM, the studio is the next step in fostering that omnichannel synergy.
“We launched the studio with, let’s say, Version 1.0,” Shrestha told iGB. “So the next idea is, ‘How do we start capturing Vegas some more?’ We have these games that Playtech is known for, so we’re taking these same games into the same markets, so we have to start differentiating by tying in Vegas.”
How MGM is trying to attract guests through live studio
The Las Vegas connection and interaction with the real MGM casino floor is a focal point of the project. Most live dealer iGaming content is filmed in warehouses and nondescript office buildings, which makes it difficult to cross-market to would-be retail casino players. But Shrestha said that the live external shots and human elements are “the little engagement opportunities that are going to work for us”.
Streaming to international players in hopes of drawing them to Las Vegas is now a critical mission, with overseas traffic down significantly in 2025. Ontario and the United Kingdom are the two biggest markets for “Live from Vegas” content, Shrestha said. The former is especially encouraging for stakeholders, as Canadian approval rating of the US and President Donald Trump is in the doldrums.
Studio workers and employees stationed nearby are equipped with talking points to help educate interested guests and start conversations.
“We’ve seen that quite a bit actually, where it’s like, ‘Oh I’m from … the UK, can I play?’ And we’re like, ‘Yes! Yes you can,’” Shrestha said.
The same is true for domestic patrons, especially as iGaming expansion has ground to a halt in recent years. No new markets have come online since Rhode Island in mid-2023. While iGaming legalisation is unlikely in Nevada, it still allows MGM to introduce the topic in a somewhat natural way.
“I love it when you have people who can’t even play the games, because Nevada doesn’t have iGaming, of course,” Shrestha said. “But they’re checking it out, they’re watching it. Can we tap into that from an MGM Rewards perspective? There’s a lot there that we can use in terms of activations, so those are all things that we’re exploring.”
From Sands Digital to sans digital
MGM’s bullishness contrasts with the likes of Sands, which pulled the plug last week on its short-lived Sands Digital Services (SDS) arm.
The company was among the biggest historical opponents of iGaming in the industry, largely stemming from late founder Sheldon Adelson’s disdain for the sector. SDS was not formed until 2022, a year after Adelson’s death at 87 years old.
In the relatively short time since, the company deemed that the venture was not worth the additional resources. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sands President and COO Patrick Dumont told employees in an internal letter that “further pursuit of this business was no longer aligned with the company’s core long-term objectives”.
Its core focus will remain on its land-based resorts in Macau and Singapore. Real-money iGaming is not legal in either jurisdiction.
The move came six months after the company pulled out of the New York casino race over concerns “about the impact of the potential legalisation of iGaming on the overall market opportunity and project returns”. Its proposal at the site of the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island had a projected cost of $7.6 billion, on the higher end of the field of bids.
Supplying omnichannel picks and shovels
While operators pursue various plans, suppliers are working in tandem to support those efforts. Aristocrat Gaming, the top land-based game supplier in the US by machine count, is investing heavily in its distribution capabilities to stay in lockstep with customers.
“We know that omnichannel launch is important for many of our customers, so our job is to ensure that when it’s important to them, it’s important to us, and we’re really focused on driving that capability more and more through our portfolio and ensuring that we’re the best partner we can be,” Primmer told iGB.
Last Wednesday, the company announced the acquisition of Awager, an Israel-based “provider in the fast-emerging and regulated Live Slot Streaming segment”, per a release. While Aristocrat has not commented on the deal yet, Awager’s website says its technology allows users to “experience the authentic sights, sounds and excitement of casino gaming from anywhere”.
In considering the needs of operators with varying omnichannel goals, Primmer noted that his team has to “walk that tightrope” in making their own calculations, but constant collaboration is key.
“For us, it’s about a true partnership, it’s not about us imposing our will,” Primmer said. “We think our job is to create the option to deliver across channels, whenever that right time is.”
Casino operators have differing views regarding omnichannel gaming, but resources are there for those who are so inclined.